Abstract
Treatments promoting post-stroke functional recovery continue to be an unmet therapeutic problem with physical rehabilitation being the most reproduced intervention in preclinical and clinical studies. Unfortunately, physiotherapy is typically effective at high intensity and early after stroke - requirements that are hardly attainable by stroke survivors. The aim of this study was to directly evaluate and compare the dose-dependent effect of delayed physical rehabilitation (daily 5 h or overnight voluntary wheel running; initiated on post-stroke day 7 and continuing through day 21) on recovery of motor function in the mouse photothrombotic model of ischemic stroke and correlate it with angiogenic potential of the brain. Our observations indicate that overnight but not 5 h access to running wheels facilitates recovery of motor function in mice in grid-walking test. Western blotting and immunofluorescence microscopy experiments evaluating the expression of angiogenesis-associated proteins VEGFR2, doppel and PDGFRβ in the peri-infarct and corresponding contralateral motor cortices indicate substantial upregulation of these proteins (≥2-fold) in the infarct core and surrounding cerebral cortex in the overnight running mice on post-stroke day 21. These findings indicate that there is a dose-dependent relationship between the extent of voluntary exercise, motor recovery and expression of angiogenesis-associated proteins in this expert-recommended mouse ischemic stroke model. Notably, our observations also point out to enhanced angiogenesis and presence of pericytes within the infarct core region during the chronic phase of stroke, suggesting a potential contribution of this tissue area in the mechanisms governing post-stroke functional recovery.